The IDF identified the two dead terrorists as Osama Hasoumi and Mohammed Fasiah, and said they were targeted for their involvement in recent rocket fire against Israeli communities in the southern Negev region. The pair were traveling together in a car when they were targeted in an Israeli Air Force strike.

The Gaza airstrike came hours after a bomb exploded near troops manning Israel's security fence. The blast went off as an IDF patrol passed through the area, in what apparently was a targeted attack. IDF reports that no soldiers were injured, although light damage apparently was inflicted on an army vehicle.

Terrorists in Gaza have stepped up their attacks on Israel since Hamas terrorists kidnapped three Israeli teens two weeks ago.

Four rockets were fired from Gaza on Tuesday, the fourth of which landed on a town in the Sdot Negev Regional Council area. No damage was reported from the attack.

The first two of the four rockets were shot down by the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, while the third misfired and landed in Gaza, killing a three-year-old Arab girl and wounding three.

In response to the latest rocket barrage, the IAF conducted airstrikes on Tuesday night, targeting five concealed rocket launchers in northern Gaza, a terrorist center in central Gaza and a weapons manufacturing site in southern Gaza.

Hamas threatened on Wednesday that if Israel attacks Gaza, the terror group will attack Haifa. On Tuesday, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar declared that Hamas has rockets that can hit any city in Israel.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)